The Rotary Club of South Haven is marking 70 years of making a difference in the community.

Club President Amy Nichols tells us the group was chartered on February 7, 1956 in the middle of a blizzard with about 300 people in town to celebrate the occasion. The South Haven Rotary started with about 25 members.

“They felt the need to give back to the community and since our projects that we support locally and internationally, we have the distinction of 100% of our members contributing and we give back all of that money that we can locally and internationally,” Nichols said. “They felt like they really needed to do that for the South Haven area.”

The Rotary has about 65 members today and Nichols says they do what they can to benefit the community.

“In a typical year, we spend anywhere from $65,000 to $75,000 locally, and if you figure over 70 years, that adds up to quite a bit.”

Nichols says the 70th anniversary was marked during a Rotary meeting this month with some remarks and a cake. But a big celebration is planned for May. Although details are still being worked out, she says they will be honoring some of their longest serving Rotarians while also celebrating all of the new members.